1997 Nissan Sentra Timing, hard starting occaisionally

CHRIO39

MEMBER
1997 NISSAN SENTRA
4 CYL
2WD
AUTOMATIC
111,255 MILES

The upper timing chain is loose & rattling, will deal with it. It sometimes won't want to start when I have shut it off in the last 5 minutes. I either have to let more time pass, or sometimes can start it by cranking it for 20 or more seconds steady w/ a slight throttle depression.

Any Idea what the cause/cure is?

4 Replies

KHLOW2008

MECHANIC
41,814 POSTS

Hi chrio39,

There are many possible causes and the first thing tou need to co is to veruify if it is ignition or fuel that is causing the problem.

Click the " First Things To Check " link at bottom of post to get an idea what to look for.

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Friday, November 5th, 2010 AT 12:36 AM

CHRIO39

MEMBER
3 POSTS

The fact that careful manipulation of the throttle usually works leads me to believe that it is fuel related, though it may be the ecm manipulating timing or something. The troubleshooting links don't address this problem. As I said it only happens if it has been shut off for a less than 5 minutes. Could it be a vapor lock? (I don't understand vapor lock). I thought perhaps someone else had the same problem and could suggest how to deal with it.

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Friday, November 5th, 2010 AT 11:43 PM

KHLOW2008

MECHANIC
41,814 POSTS

Vapor lock means air is trapped in the fuel system and would normally occur only after vehicle has been stopped for some time.

The link explains how to go about checking for what is missing causing the non starting. Guessing is not going to work. When problem occurs whereby you are not able to start, you need to perform test to find out if it is ignition sparks or fuel pressure that is missing.

After verifying what is missing, then you can proceed to troubleshooting to locate the source.

Since manipulation of the throttle allows starting, the most likely cause would be the MAF. Try cleaning it and retest.

The injectors would be a likely suspect if they are leaking causing temporarily flooding and non starting.

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Saturday, November 6th, 2010 AT 6:41 AM

CHRIO39